Americas Rugby Championship Referees & Broadcast Schedule

The Americas Rugby Championship will feature matches between Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and the United States. These matches will be held in eleven different cities starting on February 3 and ending on March 4.

Eight referees have been selected for the Americas Rugby Championship. The referees represent five of the six teams in the competition. The USA has two referees, with Kurt Weaver being assigned three of the matches and Derek Summers two.

Uruguayan Claudio Cativelli will be the referee for two of the matches, including the first game between Brazil’s Os Tupis and the Cóndores of Chile. Joaquín Montes, who is also from Uruguay, will referee his only match, on March 4 between Argentina XV and the USA.

Argentines Pablo Deluca and Damián Schneider will each referee two matches, while Brazilian Ricardo Sant’Anna and Canadian Chris Assmus will referee one each.

Kurt Weaver said “We look forward to the tournament and working with the teams and players. The quality of play and matchups were very strong last year and we anticipate a raised level for this coming year’s tournament. I know all the referees are working hard preparing for their matches and we are excited for the opportunity.”

The referees for the Americas Rugby Championship were appointed by World Rugby, while the assistant referees were appointed by the national unions. Seven of the referees also have assistant referee roles, while twenty other officials were added as assistant referees.

Referees were appointed by World Rugby whereas Assistant Referees are national union appointments and a positive way to promote local talent. Given the high stakes involved in the tournament, seven of the referees will also have assistant referee roles, with other 20 officials in that capacity added to the group.

Tournament Director Trevor Arnold said: “Players and coaches striving to compete in a ‘professional’ environment have to be supported by match day personnel (Referees, Assistant Referees, Technical Zone Personnel, Referee Performance Reviewers, Match Commissioners, Citing Commissioners and Judicial Officers) who also require opportunities to become more ‘professional’ in their roles.

“As such, we are delighted to be announcing such a good group of referees and assistants for our tournament. It is a privilege to be working with such a group and it ensures that the games will be in very good hands.”

Four of the five referees from 2016 are back, with Assmus, Montes, ,Schneider and Weaver gaining valuable experience from the inaugural tournament.

At the USA Rugby National Development Summit in Baltimore, Maryland that was held January 13-15, 2017, I had the chance to interview Kurt Weaver for the DJCoil Rugby You Tube Channel. Click here for that interview.